It’s officially Draft Day (on the east coast, anyway), and we still aren’t sure who the Cleveland Browns will take with the top overall pick. The player you’ll see the Browns taking in most mock drafts at No. 1 is USC quarterback Sam Darnold (The Comeback’s Brad Gagnon has the Browns doing just that in his final mock draft).
But there’s been an interesting rumor over the last few days, with ESPN’s Adam Schefter even saying on Tuesday that the Browns are considering doing this: Baker Mayfield to Cleveland at No. 1.
And on Wednesday night, some more reports came out about the Browns being serious about taking the Heisman-winning Oklahoma quarterback with the first pick.
Former NFL scout John Middlekauf of The Athletic tweeted on Wednesday night that he’s “heard from a decent amount” of coaches, scouts, and media members “in the loop” that the Browns will take Mayfield at No. 1. Middlekauf added that he’s “starting to believe it.”
Ive heard from a decent amount of people today – coaches, scouts, media members in the loop that Dorsey will go Baker at 1. I’m starting to believe it
— John Middlekauff (@JohnMiddlekauff) April 26, 2018
And Yahoo Sports’ Jordan Schultz tweeted on Wednesday night that a veteran NFL executive thinks the Browns will take Mayfield first.
One veteran NFL executive tells me he believes the #Browns will select Baker Mayfield with the No. 1 overall pick.
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) April 26, 2018
We’ll find out for sure in 19 hours, but the idea of Mayfield being the top overall pick (and trying to turn around the Cleveland Browns) is certainly a very interesting one. Despite Mayfield’s incredible Heisman season, many evaluators didn’t believe he was even a first-round pick due to not having ideal size for the quarterback position (a trait that continues to show to be overrated), and because of his personality and on-field antics that have drawn criticism (another thing that shouldn’t really matter, but we know how some of these NFL front offices think).
Related: Baker Mayfield and family/friends did an amazing job famous Brett Favre draft photo.
